A Pokémon fan has brought the art of cosplay to a disturbing new level with an inventive Donnie Darko mashup.
On Reddit, u/Burlapped-Stoat shared their horrifying combination of Vaporeon and Donnie Darko's Frank. In the film, Frank (James Duval) served as the main antagonist, manifesting as an ominous vision dressed in a nightmarish rabbit costume, malevolently manipulating Jake Gyllenhaal's title character toward a dark fate. In the comments section, the designer revealed their cosplay took around "five months with burnout breaks in-between." In addition to the Water-type Eeveelution, Burlapped-Stoat has created frightening outfits resembling the Pokémon Mimikyu and Stitch from Disney's Lilo & Stitch.
Jake Gyllenhaal's Donnie Darko Breakthrough
Donnie Darko was written and directed by Richard Kelly. Besides its status as a cult favorite, the 2001 film served as a dramatic breakout moment for the prestigious career of Gyllenhaal, who starred as the tortured, time-displaced protagonist. While specifics weren't provided about what inspired this odd amalgamation of Frank with the water-wielding Pokémon, the creativity of the costume is attributed to "Snacks, lots of snacks, that's my secret to creating these creatures," adding, "If I have sweets before going to sleep, 9/10 dreams become nightmares."
Vaporeon first appeared in Pokémon Red and Blue, the Generation I games as the Water-type evolution of Eevee, joined by Jolteon and Flareon. Afterwards, Game Freak added the Psychic-type evolution Espeon and the Dark-type Umbreon in the Generation II titles. The franchise later introduced the Grass-type Leafeon and the Ice-type Glaceon in Generation IV and eventually unveiled the Fairy-type Sylveon in Generation VI. Each Eeveelution requires players to either obtain a particular stone to evolve their Pokémon or increase its friendship level during a specific time of day.
While Sylveon is the most recent addition to Eevee's evolutionary line, Game Freak has not created Ghost, Ground, Fighting, Steel, Poison, Rock, Dragon and Bug-type evolutions for the fan-favorite pocket monster. However, that has not stopped talented artists from designing their renditions. For example, Reddit user ichbinmac posted their mysterious fan art of a Ghost-type Eeveelution called "Ghouleon." Commenters pointed out the imaginary Pokémon's fancy mustache and speculated that its required evolutionary item would be either a brick or a tombstone.
Yet, a Donnie Darko-themed Vaporeon isn't the only ghostly Pokémon fan design. TikTok user @techlifestyle.pe recently shared a short clip of their Gengar-inspired designer sneakers. The shoes included images of the Generation I Ghost/Poison-type pocket monster with a tube on the front that emits spooky purple mist from a vial containing purple liquid.
Regardless, the cosplay's integration of the brooding cult-favorite film is yet another example of the versatility of Pokémon.
Source: Instagram via Reddit